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Cardiac Cephalgia
Nancy Wassef1, Ali Turab Ali2, Alexia-Zacharoula Katsanevaki2
1Birmingham Heartlands Hospital, UK.
Insights
Cardiac cephalgia, or exertional headache, can be a rare symptom of acute coronary syndrome. This case highlights an unusual presentation in a patient under 50, emphasizing the need for broader diagnostic considerations in ischemic heart disease.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Neurology
Background:
- Ischemic heart disease (IHD) commonly presents with chest pain.
- Rarely, IHD can manifest with atypical symptoms such as cardiac cephalgia (headache).
Observation:
- This report details a unique case of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) presenting solely as exertional headache.
- The patient, under 50, had a history of similar headaches potentially linked to prior left coronary artery stenting.
Findings:
- The case underscores the possibility of cardiac cephalgia as the primary symptom of ACS.
- This presentation is particularly unusual in a young patient and has not been previously reported at this age.
Implications:
- Clinicians should consider cardiac cephalgia in the differential diagnosis of exertional headaches, especially in younger individuals with cardiac risk factors.
- Further research into the mechanisms and prevalence of cardiac cephalgia in acute coronary syndrome is warranted.
Abstract:
Although most of the patients presenting with ischemic heart disease have chest pains, there are other rare presenting symptoms like cardiac cephalgia. In this report, we present a case of acute coronary syndrome with an only presentation of exertional headache. It was postulated as acute presentation of coronary artery disease, due to previous history of similar presentation associated with some chest pains with previous left coronary artery stenting. We present an unusual case with cardiac cephalgia in a young patient under the age of 50 which was not reported at that age before. There are four suggested mechanisms for this cardiac presentation.
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